Rotary folding mechanism drive means



Aug. 11, 1964 .1. BRYER ROTARY FOLDING MECHANISM DRIVE MEANS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25, 1962 lNVENTOI? A TTGR EYS J. BRYER ROTARY FOLDING MECHANISM DRIVE MEANS Aug. 11, 1964 Filed oct. 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ll lllllllll J Mum 6 J H ill-ll 4M.-- 7% E in I MHMIMHIIJ. .1 ,8. Hww m 1 7 w Aug. 11, 1964 1 J. BRYER 3,144,249

ROTARY FOLDING MECHANISM DRIVE MEANS Filed Oct. 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Aug. 11, 1964 J. BRYER I ROTARY FOLDING MECHANISM DRIVE MEANS Filed (501;. 25, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 COLLECT/QUN FIRST COLLECT RUM 2 1 REl/OLUT/O/V O CYL.

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United States Patent 3,144,249 RGTARY FQLDHNG MECHANISM DRIVE MEANS Jack Bryer, liarainus, N.J., assignor to R. Hoe is: Co., Inc, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 25, 1962, Ser. No. 232,974 3 Gaines. (Cl. 270-77) This invention relates to folding mechanisms, and more particularly to such mechanisms as used in connection with rotary printing presses.

In a so-called 3:2 folder, having a collecting cylinder with three sets of operating elements cooperating with a cutting cylinder with two sets of cutting elements, provision is made for modifying in a suitable manner the epicyclic rotation of the folding blades so as to permit either a straight or collect run. This has been accomplished by utilizing a differential mechanism for each folding blade drive (Harless Patent No. 2,981,540) and by providing a differential drive for the sun gear (Neal et al. Patent No. 3,055,657. These expedients possess disadvantages with respect to convenience of lubrication or high inertial effects, and it is the object of the present invention to provide a drive mechanism improving the mechanism in these particulars.

The present invention is an improvement on that disclosed in the prior Neal et al. application, eliminating the high inertial effects of the differential drive disclosed therein, while retaining the advantages of facility of housing and lubrication of the parts and facility of shifting from straight to collect run, while avoiding the re duplication of elements of the alternate drive mech anism for the individual blades, which is involved in the Harless mechanism. 1

In the mechanism of the present invention, a stationary sun gear is utilized for the straight run and the sun gear is rotated by an indexing drive (preferably a so-called Ferguson drive) for the collect run, the indexing drive being timed to the cylindrical rotation for obtaining the proper folding blade movement.

A mechanism embodying the invention in a preferred form will now first be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawing, and the features forming the invention will then be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is an end view, on the line I--I of FIG. 2, of the folding cylinder drive mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a section on the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a gear diagram sectional view, taken on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the folding blade tip paths for straight and collect runs.

The folding cylinder arrangement of the invention is of a generally known type, such as shown, for example, in the Neal et al. and Harless applications above mentioned and in prior patents, Jordhoy 1,900,288, Tomlin 2,026,- 443 and Harless 2,919,914. Reference may be made to those applications and patents for details of elements which, in themselves, form no part of the present invention and, accordingly, are not described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is indicated a folding cylinder body 1, which may be of conventional construction, rotatable about the axis 2 and supported by means of a shaft 3 in bearings 4 by the main frame 5. Surrounding bearings 4 is an eccentric bushing 6 which, in turn, supports by means of bearings 7 the folding blade carrier disc 8, which element rotates about the axis 9 eccentric to the axis 2, as indicated. As will be understood, the blade carrier and cylinder body are rotated in timed relation to each other as usual in structures of this character. The mechanism for so doing comprises a 3i,l44,249 Patented Aug. fl, 1964 gear carried by the folding cylinder at its other end (not shown) and driving a shaft ltl which, in turn, drives the discs 3 of the folding blade carrier by means of gearing ll, 12. As usual, the angular rotation rate of the folding blade carrier 8 about its axis 9 equals the angular rotation rate of the cylinder body 1 about its axis 2. Gearing 11, 12 being spiral, axial adjustment of shaft It may be used for fine adjustment of the folding action by slightly advancing or retarding the folding blade carrier 8.

The cylinder body shaft 3 is driven by bevel gearing l3, 14 from the folding mechanism main drive shaft 15, which shaft is carried by means of bearings 16 in brackets 17 secured to the frame 5.

Carrier 8 supports the folding blade shafts 20 by means of bearings 21 and each folding blade carries a planetary pinion 22 meshing through an idler 23 with sun gear 24. The sun gear is mounted by bearings 25 on the eccentric bushing 65. The sun gear 24 is fixed to a drive wheel 26 (as by forming it integrally therewith) which serves for holding the sun gear stationary with respect to the frame 5 (straight run) or rotating it in a desired manner (collect run). For this purpose wheel 26 meshes with pinion 27 (FIGS. 1 and 3) carried on the shaft 28 of the follower wheel 29 of the indexing drive.

The indexing drive comprises a cam rotor 30 (driving the follower wheel 29 just mentioned) rotatably supported and axially positioned by bearings 31 on the main drive shaft 15. Clutch sleeve 32 splined to shaft 15 carries spline spur gear teeth 33 engaging in the internal spline gear teeth 34 secured to the upper end of the cam rotor Bil, so that with these parts in the position of FIG. 2 the rotor 30 is fixed to the shaft 15. A clutch ring 35 rotatably mounted on the sleeve 32 by hearing 36 is engaged by a fork 37 carried on shaft 38, for engaging and disengaging the clutch teeth 33, 34. Operating handle 39 (FIG. 1) is used for turning the clutch shaft 33, being releasably held in engaged or disengaged position by detent means, such as indicated at 46 in FIG. 1. Clutch shaft 38 also carries a locking arm 41 which engages in a notch 42 in the rotor 30 when the clutch is disengaged.

With the clutch teeth 33, 34 disengaged, the rotor 30 is disconnected from drive shaft 15 and, moreover, locked against turning by the locking arm 41. Follower wheel 29 is, in turn, held fixed by its engagement with the rotor 30, thus locking pinion 27, wheel 26 and sun gear 24. With sun gear 24 thus held stationary with reference to the frame 5, the folding blade planetary pinions 22 and the folding blade shafts 20, to which they are fixed, are rotated at an angular speed depending on their pitch diameter ratio to the sun gear. In the mechanism illustrated, this ratio is fixed at 1:3, so that for each rotation of the carrier 8 (or cylinder 1) each folding blade shaft 20 makes three rotations with respect to the carrier and two rotations with respect to the frame 5.

This produces the full line blade tip path indicated in FIG. 4, consisting of three cusps symmetrical about the carrier axis 9 and spaced apart. By reason of the downward displacement of axis 9 from the cylinder body axis 2, the blade protrudes beyond the cylinder surface in its operative lowermost position for tucking the sheets into the folding oif rolls 45, while the other two tips of its cuspidal path (120 and 240) fall within the outline of the cylinder ll. This straight run action of the blades is conventional.

When rotor 30 is coupled to the shaft 15 for a collect run, the modified action shown by the dotted and dotdash lines of FIG. 4 is produced, and the form of this path depends upon the drive characteristics and phase relationship of the indexing drive 3ll-29 to the cylinder rotation.

The first requirement for a collect run is that each blade as it comes opposite the folding rolls during one rotation of the carrier should be in the operative folding position. (FIG. 4), but turned up into inoperative position during the next, so as to permit collecting the products between folding operations. This requires that the average angular speed of the folding blade shaft be in the ratio of 3:2 for a collect run,.as compared to 3:1 for the straight run just discussed. An epicyclic or other constant angular speed drive in such 3:2 ratio is not, however, satisfactory, as the path of the blade tip will, in that case, be lobed, instead of cuspidal, so that the blade tip engages the sheets prematurely and follows a course which interferes with the folding rollers 45. For this reason, the prior Harless and Neal et al. applications provide differential drives for the sun gear or planet gears so as to accelerateand decelerate the basic 3:2 motion and produce a suitable cusp in the tip path at the folding position. The present invention substitutes for this differential modifying action an indexing drive, which provides a marked improvement in operation.

The indexing drive rotor 30 has a number of generally helicoidal. ribs 50 defining generally helicoidal cam grooves 51 between them which cam grooves receive the rollers 52 of the follower wheel 29. The number of cam grooves 51 of the rotor and rollers 52 of the follower wheel depend upon the gear drive ratios. In the present construction, the gear drive ratio between the follower Wheel 29 and the sun gear 24 is 1:1. The ratio between bevel gear 13, 14 is 2:3 (the cylinder 1 and folding blade carrier 8 rotating at two-thirds the speed of the drive shaft 15). Accordingly, a ratio of 3:1 between the rotor 30 and follower wheel 29 will turn the sun wheel at the desired average speed of one-half that of the cylinder. This ratio is obtained by providing three cam ridges 50 (cam grooves 51) in conjunction with the follower wheel having nine rollers 52 set at 40 intervals around its periphery. As is apparent, a complete turn of the rotor 30 from the position shown in FIG. 1 will restore the parts to the position of that figure, but with the follower wheel 29 turned through three roller intervals or a total of 120 (corresponding to 360 rotation of the cam rotor 30).

The following table shows the position of elements during a complete rotation of the cam rotor:

Table of Positions of Parts I, II, de- III IV, V, VI, (le- VII, degrees grees degrees degrees grees degrees In this table; Column I shows the angular position of the cylinder body 1 and folding blade carrier 8, with reference to the starting position of FIG. 3, in increments of 10; Column II shows the corresponding angular position of the cam rotor 30; Column III shows the corresponding extent of cam rise in an axial plane of the cam rotor 30 at right angles to the axis of follower 29;

4 Column IV shows the corresponding angular positions of follower 29 and the sun gear; Column V shows the angular movements imparted to the folding blade shafts by these movements of the sun gear; Column VI shows the angular movements imparted to the folding blade shafts by their planetary rotation, assuming stationary sun gear; Column VII combines Columns V and VI to give the actual folding blade shaft rotation, which is the difference between Columns VI and V.

In the table, Columns I, II and VI have a simple proportional relation as determined by the gear ratios and are the same as for a straight run. Column IV is obtained from Column III by multiplying by a factor of 120 and Column V by multiplying Column III by a factor of 360.

The table of positions shows 240 rotation of the cylinder. The position of parts during the second 240 is obtained by adding to the figures in Columns I, II, IV, V, VI and VII, respectively, the constant amounts of 240, 360, 120, 360, 480 and 120. The position of parts during the third 240 of rotation of the cylinder is similarly obtained by adding respectively twice the figures just stated in these various columns.

The path thus obtained is as shown in dotted and dot-dash lines in FIG. 4, in which the blade tip starting at the lowermost or folding position travels upwardly and clockwise around the folding blade axis 9 to a cusp at 240 in the figure and then continues downwardly and still clockwise to a point immediately below the cylinder axis 9, in which the folding blade is now pointed vertically upwardly instead of downwardly, which corresponds to 360 of rotation of the cylinder. The path of the blade tip continues as shown in dot-dash lines to a cusp at 120 (480) and then back down to the starting position at zero degrees (720), so that each blade performs a folding operation during alternate rotations of the cylinder. There is shown in FIG. 4 for comparison purposes in full lines, the tri-cuspidal path of the blade tip for a straight run.

As is apparent from the foregoing table of positions, as also from FIG. 4, the average speed of rotation of the folding blade is one and one-half that of the cylinder. The average speed of rotation of the sun gear is onehalf that of the cylinder (Column IV). A constant rotation of the sun gear and folding blade shafts at this average speed would produce a lobed path such as shown in dot-dash lines in FIG. 3 of the above mentioned Neal et al. application, while obtaining the desired folding action requires a cuspidal path at the folding point approximatingreasonably closely to the straight run blade tip path. This is achieved by the indexing drive by holding the sun gear substantially stationary while the cylinder rotates through an appreciable arc to each side of the folding point. As is apparent from the foregoing table, the folding blade angular position during a range of cylinder position of 10 before folding point and 10 after folding point differs by less than three-tenths of a degree (18 seconds) from the position of the. blade for a straight run.

As is apparent from the foregoing Table of Position of Parts as above described, the operation of the indeXing drive is cyclical in character, the movement through a complete rotation of 360 (Column II) producing rotary movements as shown in Column IV at varying speeds (as indicated by the difference-between successive positions stated in that column). The period of this cyclical indexing drive movement corresponds to 240 (Column I) or one-third of two complete rotations (720) of the cylinder and carrier.

What is claimed is:

1. In a folding mechanism comprising a folding cylinder body, an eccentric folding blade carrier rotatable therewith, folding blades having shafts rotatably mounted in the carrier, means for driving the carrier and cylinder body in timed relation and at equal angular speeds, a

rotatable sun gear concentric with the carrier and planet gearing carried by the carrier for driving the folding blade shafts from the sun gear, means for holding the sun gear stationary for straight run operation of the mechanism and means for rotating the sun gear for a collect run operation, the last said means comprising a uni-directional indexing drive having a periodically varying speed in timed relation to the cylinder and carrier, the cycle of the said speed variation being one-third of two complete rotations of the cylinder and carrier, the said indexing drive having a substantial dwell timed to a rotational position of the carrier where a folding blade shaft is in a straight run folding position, whereby a folding blade operative folding movement substantially like the straight run movement is obtained, but

takes place only during alternate rotations of the cylinder and carrier.

2. A folding mechanism according to claim 1, in which the said indexing drive comprises a cam rotor and follower wheel having cam follower rollers spaced evenly around its periphery.

3. A folding mechanism according to claim 2, in which the said cam rotor provides a substantially cycloidal drive for the follower wheel at the said dwell and a 10 substantially sinusoidal drive between dwells.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,981,540 Harless Apr. 25, 1961 15 3,020,042 Worthington et al. Feb. 6, 1962 3,055,657 Neal et al. Sept. 25, 1962 

1. IN A FOLDING MECHANISM COMPRISING A FOLDING CYLINDER BODY, AN ECCENTRIC FOLDING BLADE CARRIER ROTATABLE THEREWITH, FOLDING BLADES HAVING SHAFTS ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE CARRIER, MEANS FOR DRIVING THE CARRIER AND CYLINDER BODY IN TIMED RELATION AND AT EQUAL ANGULAR SPEEDS, A ROTATABLE SUN GEAR CONCENTRIC WITH THE CARRIER AND PLANET GEARING CARRIED BY THE CARRIER FOR DRIVING THE FOLDING BLADE SHAFTS FROM THE SUN GEAR, MEANS FOR HOLDING THE SUN GEAR STATIONARY FOR STRAIGHT RUN OPERATION OF THE MECHANISM AND MEANS FOR ROTATING THE SUN GEAR FOR A COLLECT RUN OPERATION, THE LAST SAID MEANS COMPRISING A UNI-DIRECTIONAL INDEXING DRIVE HAVING A PERIODICALLY VARYING SPEED IN TIMED RELATION TO THE CYLINDER AND CARRIER, THE CYCLE OF THE SAID SPEED VARIATION BEING ONE-THIRD OF TWO COMPLETE ROTATIONS OF THE CYLINDER AND CARRIER, THE SAID INDEXING DRIVE HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL DWELL TIMED TO A ROTATIONAL POSITION OF THE CARRIER WHERE A FOLDING BLADE SHAFT IS IN A STRAIGHT RUN FOLDING POSITION, WHEREBY A FOLDING BLADE OPERATIVE FOLDING MOVEMENT SUBSTANTIALLY LIKE THE STRAIGHT RUN MOVEMENT IS OBTAINED, BUT TAKES PLACE ONLY DURING ALTERNATE ROTATIONS OF THE CYLINDER AND CARRIER. 